Rapid point-of-care test to find allergen IgE that triggers asthma
Official title: Development of a highly sensitive and specific POCT testing asthma triggering allergic IgE
Funded at Allerdia INC · NIH-11136323 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A quick, easy allergy test that finds IgE antibodies that trigger asthma for people with allergic asthma.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Allerdia INC NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project start | February 1, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $921,539 |
| NIH project number | 5R44HL167289-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11136323 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with allergic or suspected IgE-mediated asthma, especially from minority or socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, who can provide a blood sample or undergo a point-of-care test.
✕Less likely to help
People whose asthma is non-allergic (not driven by IgE) or whose triggers are not environmental allergens are unlikely to benefit from this test.
What this research studies
If you have allergic asthma, this project aims to create a small, rapid test you could use at clinic visits to find which environmental allergens are causing your symptoms by detecting IgE antibodies. The team plans to build a low-cost, point-of-care device designed to be more accurate and reduce false positives compared with current lab tests. They will test the device using patient samples and compare results to standard laboratory IgE tests, with a focus on recruiting people from Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian communities. The goal is to make a commercially available test that local clinics and community health centers can use to guide care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could let patients and clinicians quickly identify the specific allergens driving asthma so treatment and avoidance strategies can be targeted, potentially reducing exacerbations and disparities.
How similar studies have gone: Standard lab-based IgE tests are widely used but can give false positives, and point-of-care IgE tests are not yet widely available, so this approach builds on known antibody detection methods but is relatively novel at the bedside.
Where this research is happening
-
Allerdia INC
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zhang, Ke — Allerdia INC
- Study coordinator: Zhang, Ke
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.